1. How long have you felt sadness?

Experts say that the difference between sadness and depression have a lot to do with timing. When you’re sad, you feel it for a short amount of time–and sometimes, that time can extend itself, but, leading therapists say sadness usually passes within 1-3 days. When you’re depressed, the timeline of your sadness extends for much longer. As well, sadness can come in waves–you feel sad, but when you find something to feel happy about, you’re no longer sad (or as sad). When you’re depressed, you’re usually unhappy for the majority of your day and have no elevation of these feelings. The longer your sadness lasts, the clearer it becomes that the emotional imbalance is not just a regular human emotion and, instead, a bigger problem.

2. Can you spot why you are sad?

Many times when we experience sadness, we know exactly why we are unhappy or what is making us sad. Other times, we feel sad for absolutely no reason and can’t understand why we are so damn unhappy. While depression can have triggers, there are more often times that those who have depression cannot figure out why they are feeling so down and out. The inability to understand or spot why your emotions are in such a low-point is an indication that you may be suffering from depression.

3. Do you sleep through the night?

When we’re sad over something, it may keep us awake grieving for a few days, but, after a while, we move back to our normal sleeping habits and routines. We tend to get our regular hours we usually sleep and feel refreshed after we get that rest. But, when you’re depressed, your sleeping habits become out of order. Many who have depression either sleep too much or not at all. Insomnia and depression are often times highly linked and those who have depression struggle to get out of bed in the morning, regardless if they have/haven’t slept. When you are sad, you move past these emotions and regain your energy when you find things to make you happy. When you’re depressed, you struggle to find the energy to do just about anything.